ACLU Legal Director Named “2009 Top Attorneys 2009”

Published: November 2, 2011

July 8, 2009
The legal director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, David Blair-Loy, was named as one of San Diego’s top attorneys in an annual competition sponsored by the San Diego Daily Transcript.

“pays tribute to San Diego County’s legal cream of the crop,” read the legal newspaper’s article announcing the year’s winners.

“I am thrilled that my colleagues respect my work and passion,” said David Blair-Loy. “I am a vigorous advocate for civil liberties and the Constitution, but I always seek a cordial relationship with all my peers, even when we’re in contentious litigation.”

The peer voting process began in March with an announcement of a call for nominations. The requested San Diego County lawyers to nominate their peers, with whom they had professional experience, who they felt were worthy of recognition.

More than 6,000 e-mail invitations were sent to attorneys listed in the San Diego County Attorney Directory 2009. Nearly 900 nominations among the 14 pre-selected categories were received.

SDDT Voting Process
The nominations were assigned a value of one. Nominations made by an attorney practicing in the same firm as the nominee had a value of 0.5 subtracted from the original value of one. Nominations between firms had a value of 0.5 added to the original value. Once the preliminary values were finalized, multiple nominations were combined to determine a total score for the nominee. Nominees could be nominated in multiple categories and potentially be a finalist in more than one category.

The top 25 nominees were then selected in each category based on the total score. In certain categories, there were more than 25 attorneys due to ties. These attorneys advanced to the semifinal round.

The semifinalists were notified that they had advanced to the next level and were asked to cast their votes for 10 nominees in their categories. When the voting was closed, The Transcript validated the votes cast.

The top 10 attorneys in each category were selected based on the number of peer votes they received. Some categories have more than 10 attorneys due to ties.

Additionally, The Transcript selected 10 noteworthy San Diego County attorneys to be listed under “The Transcript 10,” which showcases an eclectic mix of practices. Lawyers chosen to be among The Transcript 10 were removed from the nominating process.

(Excerpts from this announcement are from the San Diego Daily Transcript, published July 8, 2009.)